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September 14th 2012:What Can The Dying Teach Us About Living?

As our population ages, an ever bigger proportion of our population will be dealing with end of life issues. What can we learn from the experience of those dying? What can they teach us about life as well as about death, and how can we help to make their transition more peaceful and love-filled? My guest this week on “Family First” is Becki Hawkins, author of the new book TRANSITIONS: A Nurse’s Education About Life and Death. Becki Hawkins is a natural storyteller and a great listener and she brought those gifts with her as she sat by the bedside of seriously ill or terminally ill patients for

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Featured Guest

Becki Hawkins

Becki Hawkins became a nurse’s aide at age 19, which inspired her to earn her degree in nursing. Unusual for someone so young, she chose to start her career in the Oncology Unit in a large city hospital. She progressed to Outpatient Oncology, Hospice, and eventually became a Hospice Chaplain. Upon retirement in the 1990s, she began to volunteer her services for hospice patients. She was also instrumental in the care of various family members. She loved the opportunity to work with the patients and their families, but she didn’t quite know how to face the reality of not being able to “save” every patient. After seeing the stress it left upon her and hearing the stories, her husband suggested